Serbia will hold joint military exercises with the United States in the summer of 2023

Serbia will hold joint military exercises with the United States in the summer of 2023. informed Serbian publication Politika with reference to the country’s Ministry of Defense.

The exercises called Platinum Wolf 23 (“Platinum Wolf 23”) will take place in southern Serbia from June 16 to 30, 2023. Ten other partner countries will also participate, the military department said.

The exact place where the exercises will be organized is not specified. Previously, they were held at the Kuvshin base near Buyanovac and at military bases near the village, writes Politika.

The publication calls these exercises “routine.” However, this time they attracted special attention, because on February 27, 2022, after the start of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Serbia announced a moratorium on participation in international exercises.

As the Serbian Ministry of Defense explained to Politika, the Platinum Wolf 23 exercises were released from the moratorium by a government decree on March 16. This decision was taken because Serbia is obliged to fulfill its obligations regarding the participation of the Serbian army in international missions, the military department said.

The purpose of these exercises is to maintain the “achieved level of interoperability” of Serbian troops “for participation in multinational operations,” the Defense Ministry said. They pointed out that at the same time, the moratorium on participation in international exercises remains in effect.

Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vucevic also told B92 TV channel that there were ‘no hidden signals’ in the US-Serb exercises and that Serbia was not abandoning its policy of neutrality military, reports Politika.

Military analyst Vlade Radulovic also noted that it is important for the Serbian Armed Forces to participate in exercises with other countries, as this improves the country’s international reputation and strengthens the military.

“The rest is speculation and an attempt to move the professional military question into the realm of politics. That’s why I wouldn’t dramatize the announced exercises,” he said.

Serbia is considered a friendly state to Russia. In particular, after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian military conflict, Belgrade did not adhere to Western sanctions against Moscow. Meanwhile, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has repeatedly said he is under pressure to impose sanctions on Russia and admitted that in the end Belgrade may be forced to join the restrictions. At the same time, Serbia does not recognize the joining of Russia of the DPR, LPR, as well as the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.